FMC CREATES CLIENT POST
In what it calls an unprecedented move among Canadian law firms, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP has appointed a chief client officer.
The firm recently announced that Bernard Bougie will assume the role, in which he will co-ordinate and supervise the firm’s client, industry, geographic, and business development teams. He also will be in charge of “client-related knowledge management,” said FMC.
The firm said the new position will bring it closer to its clients.
“This position is unique in the Canadian legal landscape and will support partners and other firm members in the development of client relationships and related strategies and initiatives,” said FMC’s chairman and CEO Michel Brunet, in a release.
“Bernard’s diverse and accomplished background makes him the perfect fit as CCO and I know we will draw upon his client focus, business development background, and strategic planning skills to drive his new role.”
Bougie spent 30 years at professional services firm Deloitte, and recently has worked as a corporate director and consultant to companies, said the firm.
MCMILLAN PARTNERS
McMillan LLP has bolstered its presence in the energy industry with a deal to merge with Thackray Burgess Barristers & Solicitors to form a Calgary office.
“Uniting with Thackray Burgess is another positive step aimed at ensuring that McMillan maintains its position as one of Canada’s best business law firms,” said McMillan CEO Andrew Kent, in a release.
“Having provided exemplary legal work to the energy industry and in particular the oil and gas sector for many years Thackray Burgess brings a wealth of experience that clients value.”
The formal merger will likely be completed May 1, said the firm.
LONDON LAWYERS SET TO ROCK OUT
London Lawyers Feed the Hungry is tuning up for the sixth installment of Courthouse Rocks, aiming to build on the $100,000 the event has so far raised.
The Friday, March 27 fundraiser will centre on the theme “Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Woodstock,” with musicians featuring songs from the historic festival.
Local lawyers, judges, and other members of the legal community will gather at Downtown Kathy Brown’s at 228 Dundas Street in London, Ont., for the event. Attorney General Chris Bentley, who is a London native, is expected to attend.
Funds for the event, which brought in $22,000 last year, have gone toward causes such as hospitality meals, collective kitchens, community gardens, Ark Aid Mission, the London Coffee House, Street Connections, the Unity Project, My Sister’s Place, and Investing in Children Inc.
Tickets are $25 and are available at the Middlesex Law Association Library by calling 519-679-7046, the Honest Lawyer, and at the door.
JUSTICE JOBS RISE STEEPLY
The number of workers in justice-related occupations in 2006 rose 20 per cent to 362,665 from 1991, reported Statistics Canada.
The agency said all sectors in the industry recorded increases in personnel during that time, with the complement of police officers up 12 per cent and courts personnel rising 24 per cent. Overall, justice workers continued to represent 2 per cent of the total labour force in 2006.
Courts personnel - legal secretaries, court recorders, justices of the peace, court clerks, lawyers, and judges - are aging most rapidly in the group. The median age of workers in the court sector was up by seven years since 1991 at 43 in 2006.
NEW HIRE AT BLG
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP has announced a new hire at its Toronto office.
Jason Young has joined the firm as an associate in the corporate commercial group with a focus on information technology and privacy matters.
Young previously toiled as legal counsel to Yahoo! Canada and as an associate at Deeth Williams Wall LLP.
CBA BACKS DECLARATION
The Canadian Bar Association has lent its support to the Nairobi Declaration on Women’s and Girls’ Rights to a Remedy and Reparation for women and girls in post-conflict situations.
The CBA recently announced that it has signed on to the declaration, which condemns the practice of rape and other forms of sexual violence against women as deliberate tactics of war, and to ensure the practices are prosecuted as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of genocide.
“The CBA has a mandate to promote respect and adherence to human rights, especially women’s and girls’ rights,” said CBA president Guy Joubert, in a release. “We are proud to be a signatory to the Nairobi Declaration.”
The association passed a resolution to sign the declaration in February at its mid-winter council meeting.
The declaration was struck following the March 2007 International Meeting on Women’s and Girls’ Right to Remedy and Reparation, held in Nairobi.
CORRECTION
Incorrect information appeared in the March 2 edition of The Inside Story. Mohamed Hashim, co-founder of the Harold G. Fox Moot, is not a professor at the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Law.
He is a graduating student. Law Times regrets the error.
